For anyone who wasn't painfully aware of it, Melissa Etheridge doubled up her coming-out with the release of 1993's "Yes I Am" - a 10-track studio recording that netted her a Grammy award, not to mention a LOT of media attention and plenty of playlist rotation in the early nineties.

In my opinion, yes and no. Yes if you can find it on sale or pirate it from the Internet. No if you think it's good enough to pay full retail price for. I didn't pay full price, of course, being the cheap miser that I am. (Note: For great used albums that are guaranteed not to be abused, scratched, or otherwise painfully mistreated, visit SecondSpin.com - they also have DVD movies and video cassettes up for grabs at very reasonable prices).

Of all the ten tracks on this CD, there are but five or six that are even worth listening to. You will find that the first half of the disc is great entertainment, with widely varied musical themes and a bit of experimentation with the guitar. And, of course, the songs are just plain cool.
Once you venture into the world of the second half of this disc, you will fall asleep from the boredom. The songs are slow as molasses at Christmastime, they have the same crap messages that Melissa has always sung about, and they are - frankly - in dire need of scrapping. Unfortunately, it-s too late for that last bit, as 1) She has already released the album and 2) I have already bought it. Oh, well.

Don't bother checking out the video, though: It's a boring black and white sequence featuring Melissa playing and singing on stage at a lesbian bar, complete with lots of lesbian dancers. If they were naked lesbians, or "intimate" lesbians it would be okay, but they're not. How...disappointing.

*Silent Legacy. Etheridge says she wrote this one after hearing a story about a young girl whose father kicked her out of the house because she was dating a black man - or something like it. Somehow, as with 98 percent of Etheridge's other songs, this comes back to love in some form or another. Don?t act so shocked.

Also, check out melissaetheridge.com for more of her self-aggrandizing drivel. You'll enjoy it even though it slows down your computer and makes you want to hurl for the bad color schemes. Be sure to read the chat logs from the rare times that Melissa feels like interacting with her numerous fans via the Internet. While you are reading all these wonderfully non-intelligent, conforming people worshiping the ground Etheridge walks on, you'll feel oh so much better about yourself - but I strongly suggest you not be wearing shoes at the time, as you'll probably vomit from all the hero-worship and ass-kissing many of her "paying fans" (you have to pay a pretty hefty fee to chat with the rock goddess, apparently) participate in.